Holder for a tissue carton or the like



May 22, 1962 H. J. MILLER HOLDER FOR A TISSUE CARTON OR THE LIKE Filed May 31, 1960 H 0mm) J. Mum BY W Fig.4

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,035,803 HOLDER FOR A TISSUE CARTON OR THE LIKE Howard J. Miller, 1255 N. Sierra Bonita, Pasadena 7, Calif. Filed May 31, 1960, Ser. No. 32,837 4 Claims. (Cl. 248-313) This invention relates to holders for tissue cartons or the like, and particularly to holders which can be easily attached to a supporting surface to maintain a tissue carton in a convenient location and position.

While various forms of holders for tissue cartons have heretofore been proposed, the present invention is particularly concerned with an improved type of holder adapted to receive cartons of various sizes and shapes.

Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a holder for a tissue carton or the like, which includes means for adapting the holder to accommodate cartons of varying depths. A further primary object of the present invention is to provide such a holder which additionally includes means for adapting the holder to accommodate cartons of varying lengths.

Yet another, and still further object of the present invention is to provide a holder conforming with the preceding objects which is inexpensive to manufacture and comprises a minimum number of parts.

Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a holder for a tissue carton or the like, as prescribed above, which holder can be easily fastened to a supporting surface such as a wall by means of screws, or easily secured to a supporting surface such a the visor of an automobile by means of clips carried by the holder.

Additional, still further, and more specific objects of the present invention are: (a) to provide a holder for a tissue carton or the like, which holder includes spiked fingers for engaging the carton carried by the holder; (b) to provide such a holder wherein the spiked fingers engage the lower edge of one end of a carton carried thereby and the edge of the top surface adjacent the other end of the carton carried thereby; (c) to provide such a holder wherein the fingers engaging the edge of the top surface of the carton are carried by a slidably adjustable collar provided with a finger flange for adjustment thereof; (d) to provide such a holder wherein the adjustment for accommodating cartons of various lengths is achieved by means of incorporating a sectioned bar and a collar overlapping adjacent sections of the bar whereby one of the sections is slidable with respect to the other; (e) to provide such a holder wherein the slidable components are fiictionally engaged so that they can be adjustably set in a desired position; and (f) to provide such a holder wherein the base components thereof can be integrally formed.

Basically, and in its simplest aspects, the holder provided by the invention comprises a base member, an elongated upright extending forward from one end of the base member, and a flange extending forward from the other end of the base member whereby a carton is receivable with the bottom thereof on top of the base member and the ends thereof disposed between the upright and the flange. The flange carries at least one finger projecting inwardly toward the upright for engaging one end of a carton, and the upright carries a collar frictionally engaged therewith and adjustably slidable therealong. The collar carries at least one finger projecting inwardly of the collar and toward the base member for engaging the top of a carton. According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, the base member comprises two longitudinally-aligned sections, and a collar member engaging and overlapping adjacent end portions of the sections whereby the adjacent end portion of at least ice one of the sections is adjustably slidable in the collar so that the base member is adjustable in length.

The invention will be better understood, and objects other than those specifically set forth above will become apparent, when consideration is given to the following detailed description of the invention. The description refers to the exemplary embodiments of the invention shown in the annexed drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view showing a holder constructed in accordance with the invention and carrying a tissue carton;

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the holder shown in FIGURE 1, and presents the disposition of the spiked fingers provided on the holder for engaging a carton;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional View taken on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1, and shows the manner in which a collar is frictionally and adjustably engaged by an associated upright;

FIGURE 4 is a plan view of a modified form of holder provided by the invention which allows for adjustment of the holder to accommodate cartons of varying lengths;

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 55 of FIGURE 4 and shows the manner in which one section of the base member cooperates with a collar carried thereby for frictional adjustment; and

FIGURE 6 is a plan view of the holder shown in FIG- URE 2, FIGURE 6 showing the location of the spiked fingers used according to the invention for engaging a carton.

Now, if reference is made to FIGURE 1, it will be seen that the numeral 2 has been used to generally designate a tissue carton and the numeral 4 has been used to generally designate the adjustable holder provided by the invention. The holder comprises a base member 6 with which is integrally formed an elongated upright 8 extending forward from the right end of the base member as shown. A flange 10 extends forward from the base member at the left end thereof as shown. Thus, the carton 2 is receivable with the bottom 12 of the carton disposed on top of the base member 6 and with the ends 14 and 16 of the carton between the upright 8 and the flange 10.

The flange 19 as shown in FIGURE 2 extends generally perpendicularly forward of the base member 6 and carries fingers 13 projecting inwardly toward the upright 8. The fingers 18 are preferably formed integral with the flange 10, and are bent in from either edge thereof. According to the preferred embodiments of the invention, the fingers are spiked and engage the edge of the end 16 of the carton adjacent the base member. By providing spiked fingers which engage the base edge of the end of a carton, positive engagement is ensured because the spiked fingers perforate the end of a carton at a supported portion thereof. More particularly, it is more diflicult to perforate the carton in the middle of the end than it is adjacent an edge thereof, and thus the invention provides for preferably disposing the fingers 18 so that they engage one end of a carton near the base edge.

The upright 8 which extends forward from the base member 6 at the opposite end from the flange 10 is also preferably formed integral with the base member 6. The upright 8 carries a collar 29 frictionally engaged there with and adjustably slidable therealong. The collar, as shown in FIGURES 2 and 6, carries fingers 22 projecting inwardly of the collar and toward the base member 6. The fingers engage the top of the carton near the edge thereof adjacent the upright 8. As shown in FIGURE 3, the collar 20 is a flattened C-shape and preferably is formed from a rectangular blank having opposed longi tudinal edges thereof folded over and inwardly toward one another.

The collar 29 carries a finger flange 24 which projects outwardly from the upright 8' and serves as a handle for adjustably sliding the collar 28*. Of course, the finger flange 24 is preferably formed integral with the collar and comprises a bent-over projection extending from one end of the original blank from which the collar is formed.

The fingers 22, like the vfingers 18, are preferably spiked and comprise folded-over ends projecting from the inwardly-bent edges of the collar 29. Specifically, if the collar 20 is formed from a blank and the edges 26 and 28 thereof are folded over and inwardly, then the fingers 22 comprise bent-down end projections and are formed similarly to the fingers 18.

The holder described hereinabove may be provided with apertures in the base member 6 thereof so that the holder can be fastened on a wall by means of screws passing through the apertures and into the walls. However, when it is desired to fastenthe holder to a movable support such as an auto visor, then as shown in FIGURE 1 the holder is provided with generally U-shape clips 36 and 32 which are aifixed to thebase member 6 by a rivet weld or the like.

In order to minimize-the number of parts neded, and to facilitate manufacture, the base member or bar 6, and the upright member or bar 8 are arched between the iongitudinal edges thereof. The arching is clearly shown in FIGURE 3 for the upright 8, and it will be understood that the base member 6 is also so arched in cross-section. With this construction, the flattened C-shape collar 20 frictionally engages the upright 8 so that it may be set at any desired position along the upright. By arching the upright as shown in FIGURE 3, a relatively tight frictional engagement is obtained between the end portions of the upright and the bent-over ends 26 and 28 of the collar 20.

While the holder described hereinabove functions satisfactorily and is adjustable to accommodate cartons of varying depths by movement of the collar 29 up and down on the upright 8, it is desirable in some instances to provide the holder with means for adjusting the distance between the flange 1t} and the upright 8 thereof. Accordingly, as shown in FIGURE 4, the base member 6, according to a modified embodiment of the invention, is split into two sections 34 and 36. This can be achieved by merely cutting the base member 6 shown in FlGURE 1 between the clips 30 and 32. To provide for the longitudinal adjustment of the base member, the embodiment shown in FIGURE 4 includes, in addition to the sectioned base member, a collar 38. The collar 38 is preferably like the collar 20 explained hereinabove, except that it is not provided with a finger flange 24 or the fingers 22. That is to say, the collar 38 is merely a flattened C-shape collar. One end of the collar is slipped over the end of one section of the base member. More specifically, as shown, the end portion 38 ofthe collar is slipped over the end of section 36 and preferably fixedly attached thereto by means of a rivet passing through the collar and through the section 36;- The other end of collar 38, namely end 38", slips over the adjacent end of section 34 so that section 34 is longitudinally aligned with section 36 yet slidable with respect thereto within the collar 38. If reference is made to FIGURE 5, it will be noted that the base member or bar 6 isarched and thus cooperates with the collar 38 me similar manner to that explained with respect to the cooperation between the collar 20 and the upright 8. The frictional engagement between the collar 38 and section 34 is such as to allow for adjustment of the section 34 with respect to the section 36 whereby the holder can accommodate cartons of varying lengths. Except for the provision of a split base memberand a collar such as that designated by numeral 38, the embodiment shown in FIGURES 4 and 5 is essentially the same as the embodiment of the invention described in connection with FIGURES 1, 2, 3 and 6, and thus it is not necessary to repeat the detailed construction of the other components.

While the frictional engagement between the collar 38 and the section 34 is similar to that between collar 2t; and upri ht 8, it should be apparent that the convex face of section 34 faces toward the closed face of collar 38, whereas the convex face of upright 8 faces toward the open face of collar 29. In both instances, however, the arching of the member or bar facilitates proper, tight, and yet adjustable frictional engagement between the components.

In operation of the'holder-shown in FIGURE I, preferably a carton is inserted between the flange portion 10 and the upright member or bar 8, and then the collar 20 is lowered so that the fingers 22 carried thereby engage the top of the carton. Of course, the collar 20 would be raised prior to inserting the carton, and the edge 16 of the carton would be inserted against the fingers 18 projecting from flange 18 before the end 14 was lowered against the base member. If the embodiment shown in FIGURE 4 is used, the same procedure can be followed, or the carton can be inserted upon the base member and then the base member can be adjusted by moving section 34 so that the fingers 18 engage the end 16 of the carton.

After reading the foregoing description of the invention, it should be apparent that the objects set forth at the outset of this specification have been successfully achieved.

What is claimed is:

1. An adjustable holder for a tissue carton or the like, said holder comprising an elongated base member adapted to extend longitudinally of the carton, an elongated uprightextending forward from one end of said base member, a flange of substantially shorter length than said upright, said flange extending forward from the other end of said base member whereby a carton is receivable with the bottom thereof on top of said base member and the ends thereof between said upright and said flange, said flange carrying at least one finger projecting inwardly toward said upright for engaging one end of a carton adjacent said base member, and said upright carrying a collar frictionally engaged therewith and adjustabiy slidable therealong, said collar carrying at least one finger projecting inwardly of said collar and toward said base member for engaging the top edge of a carton adjacent said upright.

2. An adjustable holder for a tissue carton or the like as defined in claim 1 wherein said base member comprises two longitudinally aligned sections, and a collar member engaging and overlapping adjacent end portions of said sections whereby the adjacent end portions of at least one of said sections is adjustably slidable in said collar and said base member is adjustable in length.

3. An adjustable holder for a tissue carton or the like as defined in claim 1 and further including at least a pair of generally U-shaped clips, each of said clips having one leg thereof secured to said base member'whereby said holder can be removably fixed to a support by said clips.

4. An adjustable holder for a tissue carton or the like, said holder comprising an elongated base bar including two aligned sections having adjacent ends intermediate the ends of said base bar, an elongated upright bar integral with one section of said base bar and extending at least substantially perpendicularly forward from one end of said base bar, a flange integral with the other section of said base bar and extending at least substantially perpendicularly from the other end of said base bar whereby a carton is receivable on top of said base bar and between said upright bar and said flange, said flange carrying at least one integral spiked finger projecting inwardly toward said upright bar for engaging the edge of the end of a carton adjacent said base bar, said upright bar carrying a first flattened C-shape collar frictionally engaged therewith and adjustably slidable therealong, whereby said holder is adjustable for use with cartons of varying depths, said first collar carrying at least one spiked finger projecting inwardly of said collar and toward said base member for engaging the top end edge of a carton adjacent said upright bar, said first collar also carrying a finger flange projecting outwardly of said upright bar and providing a handle for adjustably sliding said first collar on said upright bar, and a second flattened C-shape collar fixedly secured to the adjacent end of one of said sections of said base member and frictionally engaging the adjacent end of the other of said sections whereby one section is adjustably slidable in said collar and said holder is adjustable for use with cartons of various lengths.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

